


Faith and Trust

by scuttlingclaws



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, attempted to write something that wasn't just straight angst, but it was a lot of fun!!, byleth's class left vague, i'm usually not a fluff writer lol so this was out of my comfort zone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 20:53:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28676991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scuttlingclaws/pseuds/scuttlingclaws
Summary: This woman was a mystery in so many ways - just who was she? Why did Rhea place so much faith in her? Seteth was determined to find out just what made this woman so special.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth/Seteth
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30
Collections: Nagamas Gifts





	Faith and Trust

**Author's Note:**

> this is a Nagamas gift for @b00giewara on twitter! i hope you like it <3 the prompt was Setleth fluff, so i hope you like it!! i usually um. write angsty stuff and don't do a lot of fluff so i was excited to take this prompt to expand my horizons and to write about my favorite 3h husband.

Seteth hadn’t trusted her from the beginning. Just where did Rhea manage to find this woman? Certainly, she was experienced in the art of battle - watching her practice in the arena with the other Knights of Seiros proved that - but that experience did not, necessarily, equate to being a good teacher. And for Rhea to allow this Byleth to choose whichever of the three classes she wished? Preposterous! It was an especially risky maneuver, given the fact that not one, not two, but all _three_ of the heirs to each of the kingdoms was a student at Garreg Mach Officer’s Academy.

The new professor’s students followed her dutifully, like lambs to a shepherd. Though, Seteth worried they were more akin to lambs to the slaughter. Could a mercenary truly maintain control over a group of students? To keep them safe, to teach them about battle? He did not think so. Yet, somehow, none of Byleth’s students returned any worse for wear, beyond a reasonable amount of injuries. In fact, they spent less time in the infirmary than even Manuela or Hanneman’s classes. But that still wasn’t enough to make him trust her. Perhaps he could see her as...qualified; but no less than that and certainly no more.

As he began to place the smallest amount of faith and trust in her, he attempted to get to know her over tea, asking her basic questions about herself. To his surprise, she could not even tell him how old she was. Most peculiar, he thought. This woman was a mystery in so many ways - just who was she? Why did Rhea place so much faith in her? He was determined to find out just what made this woman so special. This woman, who couldn’t even identify her father with a modicum of certainty, was now in possession of the Sword of the Creator - the single most powerful Hero’s Relic.

His quest to find answers about this mysterious young woman was cut short when Flayn had disappeared. Of course, all the faculty and students of Garreg Mach did their best to find any clues they could but there was no person who did more to find his precious daughter than Professor Byleth herself - the woman he minced no words with, telling her directly that he did not trust her and would be keeping a close eye on her. It didn’t even stop when Flayn was found, even after she was safe back in his arms Byleth continued to visit her, bringing her favorite meals and little trinkets that caught her eye from the merchants outside of the monastery. That was when Seteth’s watchful eyes changed from suspicion to affection; when meetings once called to scold her quickly turned into an excuse to see her and their fingers lingered when they brushed against one another. He could not recall the last time he could literally feel butterflies in his stomach when he was with someone, not since his wife had passed all those years ago.

Where Byleth was once the one to comfort him when his daughter disappeared, he was the one who came to her aid after her father passed right in her arms. He could never shake the image of her red-rimmed eyes and bloodsoaked clothes when she returned. That was the point where he no longer felt it necessary to hide their late-night rendezvous - he could spare no energy doing anything besides doing whatever he could to alleviate her suffering.

When they found the whereabouts of Monica, he wanted so badly to accompany the professor as she suited up for battle, urging her to please, please, please be careful. He had to stay at the monastery to be sure no misfortune fell upon it in his absence, no matter how much his heart wanted to accompany Byleth. He was shocked when she returned, no worse for wear but with an entirely different appearance and he began to understand what about her had so attracted him in the first place.

But he never got the change to tell her the depth of his feelings before Edelgard had stormed Garreg Mach Monastery with the might of the Empire behind her. It was difficult enough to hold them off, even as the Immaculate One had taken her true form to defend the sacred place they called home. As Seteth fought off the intruders, he saw Byleth trapped by the mysterious group that had brought so much ruin upon Garreg Mach, unable to do anything but watch in horror as she tumbled down the precipice. 

~~~

Seteth reran the events of the past five years in his head once more, desperate for some sort of sign that there was still something that could be done. Had he been focused on the wrong person? If his sights were set on Edelgard from the beginning, would he have been able to stop what happened? He sighed, gazing out at the ruins of the monastery before him. Flayn had requested that they stop at Garreg Mach during their search for Rhea and Byleth so that she could retrieve something she had left there. As much as the logical side of him had wanted to deny her this - there was so little time to spare, how could they waste any time? - he could not say no to her. Nor could he ignore the tiny whispers in the back of his mind urging him to return.

As Flayn headed towards the Holy Mausoleum, Seteth’s feet had taken on a mind of their own, bringing him to the Cathedral. It pained him to see the holy place in such a state of disrepair, but the thought was quickly cut short when he noticed a figure standing in the distance. 

Seteth readied his spear. Before he could call out to ask this person who dare to defile the Church of Seiros their name, they turned around and his heart skipped a beat. It was Professor Byleth, looking worn down and ragged. He dropped his weapon with an unceremonious clatter and ran to her. 

As soon as he reached her, he swept her up into his arms. “Where have you been these past five years?” The words sounded hoarse as he struggled to keep the tears that threatened to spring from his eyes at bay. He pulled away just enough that he could look at her face again. She was every bit as beautiful as the day she first appeared before him, though significantly more grimy. 

“I was asleep,” she murmured, looking up at him. “I slept...for so long, Seteth.” Her grip on his arms tightened. Flayn had a similar reaction when she had first woken up, and he could sense the same fear and uncertainty radiating from her.

“You are alright now, Byleth.” He brushed his thumb against her cheek, combing away the errant locks of mint green hair. “You are with me, now.” There was so much he wanted, no, _needed_ , to say to her but he was merely content to hold the professor in his arms, the same way he did in the Goddess Tower all those years ago as the two of them prayed that Fodlan could continue to enjoy the peace and prosperity they experienced in that moment. He didn’t have the courage to do anything more than hold her small hands in his, but he would not allow himself to live in regret any longer. Not after he nearly lost her.

He would never let her go again, he promised himself. 

“Byleth…”

She looked up at him, raising her hand to cup his cheek just as tenderly as he did hers. He would not let this opportunity pass him by.

“I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” came her quiet reply.

When he leaned in for a kiss, she melted into him as their lips locked. Despite the chaos and uncertainty in the world around them, everything felt right. Even just for a moment.

  
  
  
  
  



End file.
